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Days after the rise of President-elect Trump, nations more affected by climate change announce goal of 100 percent green energy by 2050.

Before the end of October, Cagayan and Isabela, provinces in the northern part of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, suffered infrastructure damages as Haima, a supertyphoon equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, struck the region.

Haima’s entry marked the debut of signal number five in the island nation, urging national and local authorities, and residents, to take preemptive steps to curb fatalities and further destruction.

Locals described it as the “most powerful typhoon” they have experienced, with wind speeds topping 130 miles per hour.

Philippines is one of the fifty-nation members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, countries that are considered more vulnerable to climate change.

And that forum have pledged to transition to renewable energy by 2050.

Apart from the Philippines, Haiti, Ethiopia and Bangladesh are also members of the council.

At the Marrakech climate conference, the group of nations issued their statement saying that they’ll update their plans on cutting carbon. It came in the wake of the surprise win of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate who accused China of inventing the climate change hoax to hurt the American economy.

The forum has members that are strong supporters of the Paris Climate Agreement which is targeting keeping the global temperature under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Consequences of climate change

The effects of climate change are already being felt in many parts of the world, from stronger storms in the Philippines and the rising seawater that threatens the very existence of Maldives, to the Syrian conflict that might have a link with the drought in the region.

A study published in 2015 revealed that there are three key spots affected by changes in climate: semi-arid regions in Africa and parts of Central and South Asia; deltas in Africa and South Asia; snowpack and glacier-dependent river basins, more importantly in the Himalayas.

Researchers Barbara Neumann and Sylvia Szabo warned via an internet-published column that the livelihood of people in the said regions will be threatened by such changes as they largely depend on their surroundings for food and income. Any slight changes in temperature, seasons or rainfall could change the way they live.

Szabo and Neumann said these areas require immediate attention and support as the impact of climate change will continue to grow.

Barbara Neumann is a Research Associate for the Coastal Risks and Sea-Level Rise Research Group at the University of Kiel; Sylvia Szabo is a Visiting Academic, Sustainable Development at the University of Southampton.

The agreement signed in Paris last year is a good step towards limiting the effects of climate change, but Neumann and Szabo urged the governments from around the world to focus on the named hotspots as they demand specific responses.

“These vulnerable regions require extra monitoring in order to avoid development impasse,” they wrote.

Capitalism in the midst of climate change

This is how capitalism and climate change actions could co-exist. Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk in October unveiled the trendy solar roof tiles.

They look good and are green, observers said.

While presenting the product, Musk was quoted saying that the product is “sort of the integrated future: an electric car, a Powerwall and a solar roof.”

The key is it needs to be affordable and beautiful at the same time, the Philanthropist billionaire added.

If successful, Musk could create a new lucrative market that also support climate change action.

Featured image is from Pexels.com; photo of Elon Musk inside post is a screen-grab from Solar City’s YouTube video.